Bruce Von Stiers

What do The Condor, Nasty, Pollo, T-Bird and Rooftop have in common? They are the nicknames of the pro BMX riders that have lent their names, and talent, to the new Mat Hoffman game. This game comes from Activision’s O2 division. The title of the game is Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2.

A little over a year ago I wrote a review on the first Mat Hoffman title. Back then my son Josh was 13 and really into watching guys like Mat perform. Josh really got into the first game. What was his reaction to the second one? He played it for hours at a time, giving me some tips on what to write the review about.

Some of the things that Josh felt I should pass on to you are that they have added several tricks, the levels have been changed around and the graphics are a lot better than in the first game. Of course, the first game was for the regular PlayStation and this new one is for the PS2. There is also an X-Box version of the game, but I checked out the PS2 version.

A few of the tricks that were added are Flatland, which is kind of riding around on the ground doing Manuals. Peg Stand is a new trick, along with the “bridge” manual.

The music for the game comes from a wide variety of sources. All a Dream from Bad Ronald, Freestyler from BombFunk MC’s, Ice T’s Reckless and Take a Walk from Spoon are but a few of the pulsating songs that can be found in the game.

The game engine that was so successful for the Tony Hawk games proves to be just as good here.

Some of the pro riders from the first game make their presence known here too. These holdovers are Joe Kowalski, Rick Thorne, Mike Escamilla, Cory Nastazio, Simon Tabron and Kevin Robinson. Dennis McCoy is out and in his place are Seth Kimbrough, Ruben Alcantara and Day Smith.

There are three main one player modes They are Session, Free Ride and Road Trip In Session, you will play in two, five or ten minute sessions to get points and break records. Free Ride lets you hang out in a level, getting to know where everything is and how to make the most points. Road Trip is like it sounds. You will go to different cities and ride to win.

Multiplayer modes are available to play if you can get somebody that won’t mind losing to you. Most of the multiplayer modes are two player. Halfpipe Hell will let up to 8 people play at once as you rip up the vert ramps in this game.

With the better graphics, killer soundtrack and better tricks, Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2 is bound to be the top selling extreme sports game of the year.

You will find the game wherever PS2 titles are sold.

To check out other information about the game visit the Activision web site at www.activision.com.